Artist Adam Paxon works in a realm beyond the normal parameters of what we might consider jewellery. Paxon layers, laminates, burrs, mills and polishes acrylic to create these fascinating wet-look sculptures. All of the ones shown here are brooches but Paxon also makes rings, necklaces, bracelets and other wearable art. British-born Paxon who won the Jerwood Prize for Applied Arts in 2007, draws us into his fascinating world with nursery-bright colours, nubby, squirming forms and curiously bulging tentacles. Look closely and each piece is a highly complex amalgamation of colour, form and light, each painstakingly created, layer by acrylic layer in Paxon's workshop. "A will to make objects we have never seen before," is how he describes his philosophical exploration of acrylic. In Paxon's hands, this base material is transformed into jelly-like, translucent otherworldy forms. Paxon grew up next to a river and the 'wet-look' on the pieces is linked to his childhood memories of paddling in the shallows. Paxon's writhing life-forms may have been inspired by happy days but these beings come from a different planet altogether. Adam Paxon's work is available through the Adrian Sassoon Gallery in London. Hear Adam Paxon talk about his work on this Adam Paxon interview on You Tube.
